


The Ice-Cream Truck

by thevalesofanduin



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Family, Gen, be warned, ice-cream, this is not what it seems, unexpected ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-29
Updated: 2013-08-29
Packaged: 2017-12-25 01:17:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/946907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thevalesofanduin/pseuds/thevalesofanduin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little Fili just wants an ice-cream...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ice-Cream Truck

Fili wakes up that morning and hears the ice-cream truck.

The happy jingle is soft but clear as a breeze whisks up the curtains through the open window.

He is up in a second, blankets thrown to the back of his bed and little feet padding against the ground as he almost stumbles to the window in his rush.

He stands on his tip-toes, head barely reaching the window and he peers outside with wide, excited eyes. There are a few cars outside and mister Bilbo next door is in his garden but Fili doesn’t see the ice-cream truck.

He whines disappointedly and presses his nose against the window – glass misting as his hot breath touches it. He frowns when it blocks his view and reaches up a hand to brush it away.

He’s rubbing the window with his fist when his bedroom door opens.

He turns around excitedly. “Unca Thorin!” He exclaims and rushes towards his uncle, clinging to his legs and peering up at the man with an excited grin.

Uncle Thorin smiles at him and his big, rough hand pats Fili’s head. “What has you so excited this morning?”

“The ice-cream truck!” Fili giggles and turns, pointing to the window. “The ice-cream truck is there, I just can’t see it. Can we have ice-cream for breakfast? Please?” He pleads.

When he looks at uncle Thorin, his uncle has a sad look on his face.

Fili hates that look.

Then uncle Thorin shakes his head, hand on Fili’s head again although the touch is rougher now than before. “No, Fili. How many times do I need to tell you that we can’t have ice-cream for breakfast.”

\---

“Do you want to play today?” Ori asks him, shyly as usual.

Fili looks sad and shakes his head. “Can’t.” He tells his bestest friend. “Unca Thorin takes me to see misser Gandalf today.”

Ori looks sad too, looking down to the ground. “Oh.”

“But I will t’morrow!” Fili says, nodding as he speaks and hoping that Ori will cheer up. He doesn’t like it when he can’t play with Ori because he has to see the boring man. “I wanna play with you, misser Gandalf is boring.” He whines, just as uncle Thorin walks onto the playground.

Ori looks up and gives him a nod, a small smile on his lips.

Fili grins.

Then, he perks up. “Ice-cream!” He shouts.

“What?” Ori frowns at him.

“You want some too?” Fili asks Ori. “Unca Thorin will get us both!”

“Get you both what?” Uncle Thorin asks, looking at Fili and Ori with a raised eyebrow.

“Ice-cream! The ice-cream truck is here.” Fili says, looking at his uncle and expecting the man to say yes.

Next to Fili Ori looks at his friend and then at Fili’s uncle. “Where is the ice-cream truck?” He asks, leaning his head to the side with a frown.

“I don’t know, but don’t you hear it?” Fili turns to Ori.

Ori shakes his head and whispers: “No.”

When Fili’s face falls, uncle Thorin pats him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, Ori. Fili has a special ear for the ice-cream truck.” 

\---

Fili sits on the couch next to uncle Thorin, pouting.

He doesn’t like mister Gandalf.

Mister Gandalf asks him questions about momma and Kili all the time, which is silly because they are on holiday. So he doesn’t like mister Gandalf, because he knows where they are and he’d rather play with Ori and eat ice-cream.

“Do you want something to drink, Fili?” Mister Gandalf asks him with a friendly smile.

“Juice.” 

Next to him, uncle Thorin sighs. “What kind of juice, Fili? Mister Gandalf can’t read your mind.”

“Apple.” Fili mutters, staring at the table.

“Sorry,” Thorin apologizes when Gandalf puts down an apple juice and a cup of coffee. “He’s been in a bad mood ever since school.”

“I just want ice-cream.” Fili grunts, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I always hear the ice-cream truck but I can never have any.”

Next to him, uncle Thorin sighs.

Mister Gandalf leans forward from his chair and looks at Fili, a calm smile on his lips. “You can’t always have ice-cream.”

“Uncle Thorin says the same!” Fili shouts and jumps up, his hands balled into fists and he turns to glare at his uncle. “Is unfair! When momma and Kili were here we could always have ice-cream!”

“Fili…” Uncle Thorin says, the sad look on his face again.

But Fili is angry and he stomps his feet against the ground. “I want ice-cream! Why can’t momma and Kili come back from vacation? I want ice-cream with Kili…” he trails off sadly, biting his lip.

Uncle Thorin is silent, staring at the floor.

“Why isn’t Kili here? I want… I want…” Fili chokes, tears in his eyes. “I hear the ice-cream truck outside and, and… I want to have ice-cream with Kili. When are they coming back unca Thorin?” Fili pleads, looking at his uncle with a heart-breaking sad face and tears running down his cheeks. His little fists shake and his bottom-lip trembles. “I want momma, I want Kili… when are they coming back?”

Uncle Thorin takes a shuddering breath. He reaches out, tugs Fili close to his side and rests his forehead against Fili’s. His voice is sad when he promises: “We’ll get ice-cream on the way back home, all right?”

\---

Thorin lets out a long, tired sigh.

Fili is in bed, having crashed almost an hour ago after the sugar-rush of his ice-cream wore down.

Finally Fili is in bed, because Thorin isn’t sure whether he could’ve kept himself from falling apart completely for any longer.

He sits on the couch, staring at the TV but not seeing what’s actually on.

A low, pained sound escapes him and he drops his head into his hands.

How is he ever going to tell Fili?

He’s near tears, but he doesn’t have any tears left to shed. He’s so alone now, Fili the only thing he has left but he’s slowly losing his nephew – his son, now. Or is Fili losing him?

Only time will tell which of them loses it first.

He assumes it’s him.

He just can’t take it anymore. Can’t listen to Fili plead for Dis, for Kili and for the damned ice-cream all day long.

He’ll go insane if he has to listen to it for another week. 

But to tell Fili the truth… he’s not sure if he can.

He still remembers it like it was yesterday. Has nightmares about it more often than not.

 

The call from the police, the red-and-white tape blocking the entire road-crossing from entries except him. Dis’ Volvo, or rather, what was left of it. There were ambulances everywhere, police cars everywhere. When he told them who he was he was rushed straight to the back of an ambulance. He grabbed Fili, cried in Fili’s hair, held his nephew so tight the little boy cried he was hurting him. But Fili was fine, Fili wasn’t hurt and Thorin had never been happier that he’d forced Dis to keep Fili in a child-seat even though he was sitting in the back – because he was a big boy now and big boys could sit in the back, Fili, and Kili will join you in a year.

Fili was half asleep when Thorin finally took him home. He held the boy – wrapped in a blanket – close to his chest and the palm of his hand resting atop Fili’s mop of blond hair. He shuddered when he saw the wreckage. The front of Dis’ Volvo almost destroyed by the white van – an ice-cream truck decorated with stickers of all kinds – that had driven straight into her. The fire-brigade was trying to remove the white van from Dis’ car. It moved a bit and Thorin turned his head away, rushing along and turning Fili’s head so it rested against the crook of his neck. The boy might be asleep but he wasn’t taking any chances.

Just as he rounded a corner there was a loud noise, the sound of metal scraping against metal and then a tune played that would forever haunt Thorin’s dreams.

It was the stereo of the ice-cream truck that decided at that point to start working, the jolly and childish tune filling the air.

“Unca Thorin,” Fili whispered, his breath hot against Thorin’s neck. “I want an ice-cream.”

 

If it was up to Thorin, Dis and Kili would be on holiday for a lot longer than they’d already been.

**Author's Note:**

> I am so sorry for writing this! *offers tea and cookies*
> 
> This is what happens when I always, ALWAYS hear the ice-cream truck drive through the neighborhood but never, ever see it...
> 
> Sorry for the people that feel I should've put up more tags, though. I didn't because I felt that it would ruin the ending and nothing graphic is happening.


End file.
